Category: Humor

In a moment fans have waited on for almost 30 years, Macaulay Culkin has recreated some of Home Alone’s most famous scenes. The 38-year-old actor returns in a new commercial as Kevin McCallister – and while the feisty eight-year-old is now fully grown, he’s up to the same tricks previously displayed in the beloved 1990 Christmas classic.

The ad, which advertises Google Assistant and its Google Home products, begins with an establishing shot of the sprawling McCallister house, which in Home Alone becomes the site of Kevin’s ingenious booby traps as he defends it against a pair of robbers.

In just one minute, the video manages to tick several major Home Alone boxes.

“Grown up” Kevin has the house all to himself – which is slightly less of an issue than it was in the original film – and relishes in some alone time.

He runs out of aftershave, echoing the famous scene in which Kevin shaves his face then applies some of the product onto his cheeks, before screaming when he realises it burns his delicate skin. This time around, Kevin simply asks his home assistant to remind him to add aftershave to his shopping list.

Kevin then jumps on his bed, a simple pleasure he enjoys in the 1990 comedy after realising his family is gone.

He watches his favourite movie, the fictional Angels with Filthy Souls, and as he does in one of the most iconic sequences of Home Alone, uses some of the film’s dialogue to talk to a pizza delivery man.

All in all this is the perfect Christmas advert both heartwarming and painfully 2.0 – I won’t spoil all the great moments though. You should really watch this for yourself.

Happy Holidays!

Possibly the best idea for a Christmas movie reboot. What do you think?@madebygoogle and @IncredibleCulk can we make this a real movie for 2020?? #GoogleHomeAlone— Darren Millar (@darrenmillar) December 20, 2018

Today I noticed something odd when I returned home from my morning croissant and hot chocolate. There was Christmas music playing throughout my house on my Google Home speakers. Eager to find the source, I took to Twitter and quickly found out that I wasn’t alone:

So the Currys Christmas advert starts with “OK Google, play Christmas music”. Yeah, that’s not going to get annoying fast
— Rob Game (@RobGameUK) November 2, 2018

Well thank you @curryspcworld Your ad is now activating our @Google Home to play Christmas music! Not funny! It’s not even December! 😡
— Bradders! (@Bradders_71) November 2, 2018

Hey @curryspcworld, your TV ad just triggered my Google Home to start playing Christmas music quite loudly at 10PM. At least get in touch with Google to blacklist your ads like they do with their own.
— antsu (@4ntsu) November 2, 2018

This may just be an innocent attempt to spread some early Christmas cheer, but in a society where even the smallest of things can offend almost anyone, is this an invasion into our personal lives or even a blatant violation of our privacy.
As home smart assistants become increasingly popular, shall we surrender to the fact that it’s something we’ll have to deal with on a daily basis? I can’t help think it’s one of the most intrusive forms of advertising. I’ve already had to ask Google to stop playing the music 4 times today.
The offending TV commercial is included below. I expect we’ll see a few more of these as holiday commercials ramp up over the following weeks. Have you been affected by unsolicited Christmas cheer?

Our new 2018 Christmas TV advert is here! The Magic of Christmas, upgraded.Shop the Magic of Christmas at Currys PC World here; https://t.co/eIH6rloIoF #ChristmasUpgraded pic.twitter.com/7Legg6Iy6O
— Currys PC World (@curryspcworld) November 1, 2018

Update: It looks like Google is on the case.

Hey Darren, we’re sorry for the trouble — we’re looking into it. If this happens again, you can file a feedback report with the keywords “Home Ad Triggered”. https://t.co/ocLD88nIQW
— Made by Google (@madebygoogle) November 3, 2018